Santa Ana police on Sunday announced multiple arrests were made in the hit-and-run that killed three trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.
The names of the suspects have not been released. Police planned to hold a news conference Monday morning. Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido said Sunday evening that five people were arrested but he did not know their names.
Updated Article: Details in Halloween Hit-and-Run Case Arrests
Twins Lexi and Lexandra Perez and their childhood friend Andrea Gonzalez, all 13, died Friday night when an SUV struck them in a crosswalk about a block away from their home in Santa Ana.
The driver ditched the Honda CR-V about three blocks away before running off, police said.
"We've done a very strong effort, 24 hours nonstop, in order to find individuals that are associated, and we believe that one of them was the driver," Pulido said. "This is a street where cars can go fast, it's just the nature of the street. So we're going to see what we can do to make it safer."
Andrea's mother and brother spoke out for the first time Sunday night after news of the arrests.
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"They're happy that the people who did this, who left them there as if they were nothing, they're finally in custody and they have to answer to justice," said Andrea's brother, Josafat Gonzalez. "That brings such a sigh of relief not just to my parents, not just to the twins' family but to the whole community.
"If I could ask one question to the people who did this, it would be that whoever they were, trying to get to or whatever they needed to do, if it was more important than the lives of three little angels."
Mourners left candles, flowers, stuffed animals and notes on Saturday at Old Grand and Fairhaven avenues, near where the girls were hit.
"She was my whole entire life, my little girl," Andrea's mother Maria Gonzalez said.
GoFundMe accounts for the girls' funerals totaled more than $37,000 in donations as of Sunday night. Anyone who wishes to donate can visit the following links:
- Donation page for Lexandra and Lexi: www.gofundme.com/gl7l4s.
- Donation pages for Andrea Gonzalez: www.gofundme.com/andreagonzalez
